Kitchen + Home Mandoline Slicer - All Purpose Adjustable 5 in 1 Slicer, Julienne Slicer, Waffle Cutter and Safety Holder

There are lots of mandolines out there, and this one happens to be my favorite.I had a nearly $100 mandoline from The Restaurant Store/Webstaurant, and it was certainly heavy-duty, but it was terribly difficult to adjust to the thickness I wanted (it would help if I had three hands, and eyes that could see both top and bottom at once), and if I were cooking for 300, it'd be my choice, but the veggies were supposed to be in a little box, and when I was cutting french fries from "biggun"-size Russets, I couldn't use the box but instead had to risk amputating my hand. It was also too big to clean in the sink, and wouldn't fit *anyplace-. And yet, mandolines are so useful, I was mad as bleep when my marries son stole it.This mandoline is easy to clean, and easy to store (although since I use it every meal, thyat doesn't happen often.) You turn a knob on the side to adjust thickness, so you can see what you're doing, and a knob on the other side twists to make french fries in either traditional (they taste better) and skinny McDonalds size (they fry faster and and *still* tasty). The knife is sharp enough to cut ripe homegrown tomatoes (a test most mandolines fail miserably at, althoough they do OK on the hard things grocery stores sell all winter.) Produce is safely held with a "top hat" that works well for most veggies. (I've never seen a mandoline that had a safe way to slice carrots, a head of celery, or bell peppers, which means you really need to buy a pair of those slice-resistant gloves. Please. I neglected to put them on recently because I only needed a few swipes, and hey, I've been using these for 22 years. The chunk I cut from my thumb was still sore two seeks later!)But that story also illustrates why quick setup is critical. With my stainless steel restaurant model, I'd not have bothered.to use it. I rinse with hot water after each cutting job, which is a breeze, but was a two-fisted job with that stainless steel monster. And because I don't have to hunt for a box containing julienne cutters, which are dangerous to handle, I find myself making french fries ten times a week. (Coat them in oil and microwave them for an interesting french fry, or microwave them to cook the innards and then brown them in a skillet of hot grease. I use a "bacon drippings" can and cook with lard to avoid trans fats, so it's not like I'm wasting oil.)Some mandolines have a vee cutter, but this one has a straight-across cutter, meaning that there's no problem with having to exactly center your produce. You can adjust it thinner than you'd want for potato chips, or thick enough for most anyone's preference for onion rings. (The Prudhomme's Lost Cajun Kitchen in Columbia makes wonderful onion rings about an inch thick, and it won't cut *that*, but I cut an onion in half, then slice it, breading with a spicy mix, and frying the C-shaped sections, serving with a sauce that compares favorably, so guests tell me, with a "blooming onion".The super-slicer is plastic, and unlike that stainless steel monster, it won't last forever. An earlier model of the Super Slicer lasted about 5 years in really *really* heavy use before I started wishing for a new oner. Mind you, it still worked fine, but I was afraid that it could give up the ghost at any minute. But take a look at the price of mandolines! On a cost-per-year basis, this is still cheaper than that stainless steel model, and the blade was still incredibly sharp when I gave the other one away. (Please note, that I am NOT criticizing the Webstaurant folks. For their intended market, that's a great mandoline, the people there are wonderful, and when I lived in Lancaster, PA, I used to visit The Restaurant Store monthly to buy equipment and supplies; I wish I still could, but it's a 10-hour drive each-way. And I give my Prime membership a real workout, shopping naked in the middle of the night. I love Amazon, too.)So to sum things up, everyone needs a mandoline to eliminate drudgery, to produce uniform cuts of ingredients that cook evenly, and to produce attractive foods like salads, pizza, and apple pie. If you are cooking for more that 50 people, you probably want the stainless steel monster, and possibly more than one. If you are cooking for a family (mine is currently a family of one), you need the Super Slicer. And having tried a lot of the other mandolines out there, I can't think of a reason for them to exist (and that includes the one that America's Test Kitchen recommends.) But almost any mandoline is better than no mandoline, and DON'T FORGET THE GLOVES.Oh, and how to keep from getting your girlfriend pregnant? Don't screw, silly!

Most cheap mandolines have blades to swap. This seems to be more flexible and quicker. It cuts 3.5" wide food with both straight and waffle cutter blades both angled. It has a slider lock(a bit stiff) on the end to release and change blades. A Wheel on one side rotates smoothly 6 times to change slicing thickness from 0 to 6 mm(0 to 1/4") with notches to help guage thickness. Yes 0 inches! Would be nice to have 3/8" limit instead of 1/4". A wheel on the other side needs to be pulled out before turning to rotate and change julienne thickness from none to 6 & 9 mm(1/4" & 3/8"). A plastic guard on the bottom protects them and you. It could use 3 julienne settings to include 1/8".A safety holder seems comfortable with a button to push food down tongs to get every slice. Could use a container to help control small items while slicing olives, garlic, mushrooms etc.Height 1.5 inches in front, 6 inches in back when rear feet extended.Small 1 page manual. Rotate food at top of slicer to julienne at different angles on both up and down strokes to dice or slice with waffle blade at different angles to create see through grid waffle chips etc. Dicing/waffling not in instructions. See youtube for mandoline instruction videos.Careful with sharp surgical steel blades!!Seems sturdy for plastic. Made in China.

We have another cheap mandoline (read that as "free with some other crap" that we NEVER use, so I certainly did not want another one. But when I started canning pickles this year I discovered the dearth of products available to do a waffle or crinkle cut slice (our old mandoline only had a straight blade). After much research I decided to give this one a try - seemed like decent reviews, and it was much cheaper than most of the other options. Since I didn't even want another mandoline, I sure didn't want to spend much money on something I was afraid might just sit unused.Glad I bought it. Works especially good for slicing larger items or making length-wise cuts on long vegetables. The hand guard seems well designed and works very well, but ONLY for long vegetables layed on the side or larger vegetables standing up and pieces about 4" long or shorter (that would be medium sized cucumbers cut in half before trying to chip them with this device. If the cucumbers are any longer, the hand guard just cannot secure the end and the vegetable simply falls over before the blade can cut it off. But since the intent is to slice up the item anyway, it really is not much of a problem to just cut it into 3-4" chunks before using the mandoline to do the slicing. When doing a full cucumber or carrot, it is very tempting to just grab it and start slicing - quick and easy - but this things cuts so fast it will only take a second of inattention to take the end of your fingers off!I really like the quick and simple way to set the depth by just turning a knob. I do wish it was designed so the tall legs would flip all the way out to enable the use over a larger bowl, but I guess you can't get everything for under $20.The biggest complaint I have is about cleaning. A neat design feature is that the vertical blades you would use for making fries or thin strips are mounted on a roller under the device, so if you want to use them, you just turn a knob to pop them up - MUCH better than having to change out some part. The down side, however, is that the roller with the sharp blades is designed to be completely NON-removable. There is a hinged cover that SHOULD make cleaning easy, but you cannot do anything except open the cover and spray water in it - you do not dare reach in to try and properly wash it. I was simply slicing cucumbers and onions, not even using the vertical blades, but plenty of tiny pieces of stuff still worked down through the blade slots in the base. I had to use a brush and sink sprayer to eventually get the stuff out. That roller should REALLY be removable with just pushing a button.